Tag: Dance

Sabbath

Sunday afternoon at home

As a teenager living in Wisconsin, Sundays were a challenge for me. At that time, all the stores were closed on Sundays. After morning church, there was a long wait for the roast in the oven. In the afternoon, there was nothing on TV except the polka parties. Elderly couples danced the polka round and around in circles for hours. I thought they would never stop, but apparently they did, since I am now older myself, and it’s been many years since I’ve seen a polka party on TV.

As an adult, like many people, I quickly succumbed to the busyness of life. Sundays became similar to every other day, filled with tasks, shopping, and distractions. It was sometime after my conversion to Catholicism that I began to consider the Sabbath again.

Now, I relish these long Sunday afternoons (even though there is still not much on TV). When I keep Sunday as a day of rest, I seem to have lots of energy during the rest of the week. However, when I busy myself with tasks and shopping, I seem to be frazzled for the rest of the week. It appears that the Sabbath was indeed made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

Who knew?

Dancing

My Ballet Slippers

Last summer when I saw my physician, she was not satisfied with my 20 minutes of exercise, three or four times a week. “You need to exercise 30 minutes a day, six days a week,” she pronounced. So I dug out some ballet exercises from my memory banks and added them to my calisthenics, hand weights, and stretches.

Gentle Reader, I am not young, and I don’t enjoy exercise. It’s a struggle. However, one day after six months, it occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, I was strong enough to actually dance.

I will admit that I tried it when my husband was out of the house, with only the dog for an audience. I lit the fireplace and turned on the music of “Soundscapes,” channel 857 on Direct TV, and then I began to dance. It was a slow, interpretive ballet with no impressive leaps or pirouettes, but it was dance. It felt fantastic!

So now I exercise in the morning, so I can dance in the afternoon.

What next?